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Dangman, thanks very much for your input!

microcenter is very close, so that is not an issue. that HP is a refurb i think, hence the low warranty. seems like buying is more cost effective.

Standard ATX case, but looking at it now i think i would rather replace it. Changed the OP to reflect that.

I have 3 or 4 hard drives of varying sizes and brands: Seagate 1.5TB, WD 250GB, and one other that I am not totally sure on. I could probably replace the whole thing. The case could be re-used, but it would be nice maybe to have a smaller form factor. DVD drive is IDE I think, so its pretty...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc Mostly web browsing, lots of youtube, kids games (mostly flash based), possibly run xbmc or plex server. 2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $500, yes. 3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S...

If anyone wants to use my link that would be awesome! This service looks awesome. https://copy.com?r=8fO3SG

demografik, i like the recommendation. Do you personally have this setup? Can you vouch for Flash performance, specifically ESPN3? My friend is intent on using itunes on his setup as well, any chance you have any experience running itunes on your htpc and if so, is it fairly smooth? I read...

thanks for the input. im not opposed to amd/ati and/or linux. but i would like to make sure this setup just works for him as he is not particularly tech savvy. I have used mythtv for many years, but flash (espn3) leaves a lot to be desired and as that is one of his main requirements im not...

I have been out of the HTPC game for a bit and a friend of mine recently asked me to help him build one. His requirements are as follows: Record OTA ATSC signal (720p/1080i), wifi connectivity, HDMI out to his TV, and the ability to access iTunes and ESPN3. I admit I don't know all the latest...

not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but http://firstrow.net is like atdhe.net on steroids. tons of streams. again quality isn't the best, but its a pretty good option if you don't have cable.

Linux + AMD typically does not end well. You are better off getting a cheap Nvidia card.

How much more "slick" does it need to be than Torrents and RSS auto-downloading your favorite shows straight to your MC?

I'm running an Acer AspireRevo 1600 for a frontend and even with an atom 230 and ION chipset it handles 720p rips flawlessly. With hardware acceleration now, for my money its more about the graphics processor than the cpu. let the GPU do the heavy lifting and the ION seems pretty capable. my...

I know most people in here probably aren't running mythtv, but they are getting great results from the single core atom now that VDPAU is available. No problems handling 720p/1080i/1080p. So I wouldn't exactly say its a pile of crap. For an HTPC it does what you need and once hardware...

I would recommend either the pcHDTV HD-5500 or the HD Homerun.

I think you may be right about the never happening part.

As quique55 mentioned, the pchd5500 is made specifically for mythtv. Also, if you really want to go all out get a HD Homerun. That has dual ATSC/QAM tuners and best of all it connects into the network via an nic so it doesnt even have to go in your htpc.

General, I guess I should have been much more specific when I mentioned it was simple "to get running". In about 30-40 minutes with mythdora it does everything I need it to do. I can watch and record live tv. I can rip dvds to the hard drive and view them or just watch from the dvd. I can...

Archer, I use mythdora which is built on fedora 8.

May I ask what distro you used? I have used mythbuntu and mythdora with my 2 pvr-150's and those work right out of the box. Installation/setup takes about 30-40 minutes. Sorry to hear your experience wasn't too good.

All the HD content I have on my myth setup are .mkv's and they play just fine with my frontend controlled by remote. Didn't have to do a thing, ready to go out of the box. 5.1 passthrough is supported, not sure about 7.1 yet. There is working acceleration via XvMC, but only for mpeg-2...

Do you work for MS or something? Knoppmyth, mythdora, and mythbuntu have all been proven to be as simple as a few point and clicks to get running. They work out of the box and accept most any hardware. Don't be so quick to assume only a windows environment is easy to setup and use.

Is that statement based on experience or just good old fashioned ignorance? That has not been my experience at all. I have used mythtv courtesy of mythdora.com for almost 2 years now and have never run into a driver issue. Most everything works out of the box.

mythtv might be a good option for you as Mohonri mentioned. Using the LVM, it will configure all 5 drives as one large drive without having to do anything. Also, with the latest releases of mythbuntu 8.04 and mythdora 5, the install and setup couldn't be much easier. Might be worth a look.

Yeah, I agree that this is not a typical file that I would be playing as far as bit rate is concerned. Just wanted to see if our systems were pretty comparable, as they should be with almost identical components. Thanks for testing and posting your results.

cmv, i have pretty much the same build you have, I just got the parts about a week ago. So far I am pretty pleased. I have thrown a lot of different HD trailers at it and it holds up pretty well, as your tests show. There is one file that I found and it doesn't play it too well. If it were...

Generally true, but in this case, neither the OEM 5400+ or the retail BE - 5000+ come with a HSF. Either way, the OP will need an aftermarket HSF.

Rogue71, I am not sure where you get your information, but your post seems all-around wrong. You are correct in your statement that ATSC is an over the air standard, but ATSC also provides for HD broadcasting, up to 1920x1080. If you have an ATSC tuner, in most cities you can get the basic...

Have you run your memory in a different setup? I have a GA 965p-s3, and I know its a different mobo, but I had the exact same issue. I ran the memory in dual channel and know matter what config I ran it in, I got errors, but when I ran them one at a time, they always tested perfectly in...

This is what I have with my e6300: Gigabyte 965p-s3 and Corsair XMS2 2x1gb ddr2 675. Total cost for both is around $170. I have been able to get up to 3.0 ghz with those components, while having the vcore undervolted. It is definitely the low budget way to go, but I have had success so I...

I just built a new rig and have started to experiment with OCing it. So far things have worked great, although i think i might want to get an after market cooler. Anyway, i noticed something that confused me when checking for stability. I will admit that i dont know a lot on the subject, but...

29 seconds with system in sig. Photoshop CS2.

At first i had it as auto, but then i manually set the timings to 4-4-4-12. I also upped the voltage for the memory by 0.1v because im pretty sure the default is 1.8 and the memory is supposed to run at 1.9v. This is my first completed build, so forgive me if i sound like i dont know what i am...

I have recently build a new system and I decided to run a memtest. My memory is corsair xms2 2x1gb ddr2 675. My mobo is a gigabyte 965p-s3. So it made it through most of the tests and at test #7 it just starts throwing errors like crazy. I am thinking that the memory is bad and i am going to...

Thanks for the replys. I think i might just use the pads that came with it first and if the temps are super high or something i will try AS5 later.

I just got a new e6300 and I have some AS5 that i want to apply to the heatsink. My question is how easy is it to remove the thermal pad? Can i simply peel it off or what? I have read that it is easier if you install the heatsink and let the computer run for 15-30 minutes. Any truth to this...

Now i am starting to think maybe switch to the 6300. I am after a moderate overclock, nothing major,so the 6400 probably wouldnt benefit me too much i guess. With $40 in savings maybe i could just go with 2x1gb right from the start and go slightly over budget. Crap, i hate when i have to make...

Ideally i would upgrade in the next couple months. Thats why i am leaning towards 1gb stick now.

Thanks for the suggestions. I did decide to change the psu to the xclio unit. As far as gaming goes, to be quite honest i dont game much, but just wanted something decent just in case. Considering that, it may be better for me even to downgrade. With the memory, i would rather just spend the...

I am building a system from scratch for the first time and I am planning on placing the order ASAP and I just wanted to ask and make sure that my components seem right and will all work together. Core 2 Duo e6400 Gigabyte 965P-S3 Mobo Chaintech GeForce 7300GT VGA256C WD Caviar SE16 250GB...